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SUMMARY The aim of this book is to introduce students to basic linguistic terminology and the analysis of English data, although other languages are considered, especially German. It is intended as a textbook for an introductory course in Linguistics, as well as a sourcebook for teachers and a book for self-study. The following areas are taken up: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The book ends with a chapter showing how the material can be applied to historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics. At the end of each chapter, there are recommendations for further reading, and basic and advanced exercises based on the material; at the end of the book there is a comprehensive glossary.

Chapter 1: Phonetics The first chapter starts with the main problem for analyzing English phonetically, namely the mismatch between spelling and pronunciation. The IPA symbol set is gone through, and finally the classification of speech sounds is introduced.

Chapter 2: Phonology The contrast between phoneme and allophone is covered in chapter 2. Spectrograms are used to illustrate the idea that sounds may be produced differently in different contexts. Next connected speech phenomena specific to English are dealt with, and finally the structure of the syllable.

Chapter 3: Morphology The first issue dealt with in chapter 3 is the difference between morpheme and morph. Standard terminology is gone through like suffix/prefix/infix and derivation/inflection. Allomorphs in English are gone through in detail, including the conditions for using them. Then, word-formation processes are discussed in general, concentrating on non-affixational techniques like clipping and compounding.

Chapter 4: Syntax The notion of constituency and basic constituency tests are dealt with in chapter 4, including cases of structural ambiguity. Phrase types and functions are covered, and form-function mismatches are discussed at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 5: Semantics The difference between reference and denotation is dealt with at the beginning of chapter 5. Compositionality is covered, and then notions like inference and scope. Basic meaning relations are presented, and the role of register in determining where synonyms are used is covered at the end.

Chapter 6: Pragmatics Chapter 6 begins by dealing with speech acts in terms of types and directness, with felicity conditions being a part of this discussion. The role of background knowledge in utterance interpretation is discussed and then the Cooperative Principle and associated Maxims. Politeness and the notion of face end the chapter.

Chapter 7: Extensions and Applications The final chapter discusses how the terminology and techniques presented in the earlier chapters can be applied to historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics. In historical linguistics, sound correspondences are the focus, as are sound shifts. Sociolinguistic variables like class and age are covered in terms of language variation. Finally, what psycholinguistic research tells us about the structure of the lexicon is presented.

EVALUATION Overall, I find this to be an excellent textbook introducing the linguistic analysis of English. All the terminology and analytical techniques are presented thoroughly, and are applied to a wide range of data from English. I particularly like the fact that examples from the BNC are brought in as additional evidence. Specific issues in the analysis of English are covered, such as the wide range of allomorphs, and it is good to see that the conditioning of these morphs are dealt with as well. The exercises cover the material in each chapter, and extend it to give the student insights into further study. The glossary is comprehensive.

I have a few issues that might be considered in later editions. One is that there is no real introductory chapter dealing with issues like the competence/performance distinction, and the notion of language as a discrete system. This, I feel, would give useful background to the approach as a whole and explain the organization of linguistic knowledge presented in the remainder of the book.

Also, additional exercises could be provided for self-study. If I were to adopt the book, I would supplement this material with other exercises. The book is also presented as a source-book for teachers, so maybe some teachers' guide would be useful as well.

An additional comment I have about the exercises is that the book is intended also as a self-study book for students. However, there is no key to the exercises (I don't know if one is intended in the future, but it would be welcome).

All in all, though, I find this to be an excellent textbook, and I would certainly recommend it for introductory courses in English linguistics.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER Jonathan White is a senior lecturer in linguistics at the Department of English, Högskolan Dalarna, Falun, Sweden. His research interests are English linguistics, syntax, phrase structure, morphology, and form-function mismatches.